


The Best Kind Of Weird

by PetrificusSomewhatus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23985124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetrificusSomewhatus/pseuds/PetrificusSomewhatus
Summary: It has been eight hours since Harry was dragged out of Potions for the Wand Weighing Ceremony and he hasn't been heard from since. What is the reason for Harry's mysterious vanishing act? Will Hermione survive the wait?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 3
Kudos: 118
Collections: Harmony For Essentials Gift Exchange





	The Best Kind Of Weird

**Author's Note:**

  * For [harry_lover](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=harry_lover).



> This one-shot was written especially for Paty Jones as a thank you for her inspiring service as an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work you are doing is so appreciated and I hope this story helps brighten your day.

Hermione Granger did her best to think about anything but whatever new awful event her best friend was most likely suffering through at the moment. She had tried all of her normal tactics to avoid thinking about Harry…petting Crookshanks…working on homework… glaring at her other so called best friend for being a selfish idiot…but nothing was working. 

Her last desperate attempt at distracting herself was to scan the additional books she had acquired to start helping Harry prepare for the tournament. That idea turned out to be the most disastrous of the lot because…Harry. Everything these days seemed to revolve around the boy. 

She was sure it was a product of Harry being entered in that stupid tournament but it had become even more difficult for her to think about anything else lately…not that she minded particularly. Harry had been, by far, her favorite topic of the last few years…even above her studies. It was only the intensity of her affection that had seemed to have grown since that stupid cup messed with Harry’s fourth year. 

According to what she had read on the subject the wand weighing ceremony was nothing more than a formality…something meant to last fifteen minutes followed by another thirty minutes of photos and media interviews. Her only guess was something had gone horribly wrong as it had been _over eight hours_ since Harry had been pulled out of Potions class. They’d denied any involvement but if one of the twins had switched out Harry’s wand with one of their fake prototypes she was going to murder them.

She’d interrogated/assaulted Cedric at supper and his explanation had only added to her worry. Apparently Ollivander’s inspection of Harry’s wand had led to the highest eyebrow rise Cedric had ever seen…followed by whispered mutterings between Dumbledore and the wand master…followed by Harry quickly being whisked out of the room, never to return. Why did things have to continually keep going horribly wrong and why did they keep happening to Harry?

She gave up trying to distract herself as a lost cause, stowed all of her things away in her room and commenced staring at the portrait hole…as if she could compel her friend to arrive back in the common room through sheer force of will. To her surprise the plan seemed to be working as she began to calm…somehow she could sense he was on his way. She was sure it was her heart and hormones playing tricks on her but the feeling was _so real…so tangible_. 

And then he was there…standing next to a tense McGonagall…looking bewildered and a bit terrified. He spotted her waiting and the nerves that were clearly present seemed to fade ever so slightly. She watched as Professor McGonagall leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, drawing a determined nod. 

It was taking every inch of her willpower not to shoot at him in a sprint as he began walking toward her. _Patience Hermione_ she practically screamed to herself, clamping her hands on the chair to prevent herself from pouncing.

“Fancy a walk?” Harry asked once he’d made it to her side.

“It’s after curfew,” Hermione admonished in a hush, a bit shocked at Harry’s flagrant discussion of rule-breaking in front of their Head of House.

“Special permission,” Harry answered dully as he held up a piece of parchment, “for both of us.”

This wasn’t making any sense at all. She meant to protest…to begin asking the million questions that were currently whirring in her brain…but she remained quiet. Harry had reached out a hand for her to take and now nothing was more important than holding it and being there for him. Her questions could wait.

As they reached the portrait hole they were stopped by McGonagall. “I will see you both tomorrow after breakfast,” she stated simply.

“But we’ve got classes,” she protested. What was going on?

“You’ve both been excused from classes for the day. Mister Potter will explain,” she said kindly before giving Harry a reassuring nod which he returned. She vaguely realized Harry hadn’t let go of her hand.

“What’s going on, Harry?” she prompted after they had spent several minutes walking in silence.

He stared straight ahead as he continued to walk but finally…finally…started talking. “Something weird happened at the wand weighing ceremony and then everything just kept getting weirder.”

 _Of course it did,_ she mused. Harry had cornered the market on weird.

“Good weird or bad weird?” she asked.

“Just _weird_ weird to start with, then really good, then…to be determined,” he replied, shooting her a nervous glance.

”To be determined?” Hermione asked with a hint of annoyance. Dumbledore’s penchant for speaking in riddles seemed to be rubbing off on Harry and it was doing her head in.

“Yeah, now that it’s been explained to me and I’ve had a bit of time to think about it I think it’s really good…a bit scary but really good. But I need to know your opinion before I can say for sure,” he continued cryptically as he motioned her toward a nearby portrait.

Hermione had been so focused on Harry that she hadn’t registered the fact that she’d never been in this part of the castle before. Harry muttered the apparent pass phrase (‘friendship and bravery’) and the painting opened, allowing them entrance.

The room was a miniature version of the Gryffindor common room. Her curiosity piqued, she began wandering, finding a rather nice bathroom as well two bedrooms. While one of the bedrooms was empty a quick peek into the other revealed a trunk that looked remarkably like Harry’s as well as Hedwig and a very familiar orange fur ball sleeping blissfully on the bed. Hedwig gave her a welcoming hoot while her kneazle continued to sleep.

“Where are we and why are Hedwig and Crookshanks here?” she asked. 

“Umm…we are in my new living quarters and Crooks is just visiting…maybe,” he mumbled, taking a seat on a nearby couch.

“Start talking,” she commanded as she sat down beside him, unconsciously reaching for his hand and instantly calming at his touch.

“Right,” he blurted, “best to start from the beginning. I’m sure you’ve already asked Cedric about what happened at the ceremony,” he began.

As annoyed as she was she couldn’t hide the smile peeking through. Harry knew her too well.

“He said it looked like there was something funny with your wand and then you disappeared with Dumbledore,” she supplied.

Harry nodded. “The trace used to track under age magic was gone from my wand. Ollivander figured that out when he was examining it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Hermione interjected. “The trace can only be removed by order of the Minister or-“

Harry waited for her to continue…a small smile on his face.

“Magical emancipation,” she nearly breathed. “Does it have to do with the cup?” she asked quickly, all of her synapses firing based on this new information.

“I told them you’d figure it out,” Harry replied…his satisfaction clear at predicting her reaction. “Since the rules for the tournament stated that only students considered to be adults could enter I immediately was deemed one when the cup spit out my name.”

Being considered an adult didn’t explain the separate living quarters as there were multiple students at Hogwarts that had reached their majority. According to Hogwarts: A History, the only adult students granted such a privilege were because they were married. Or if they were direct descendants of-

“Oh shit,” she blurted. Harry laughed.

“There's more. Now that I’m considered an adult I’m officially a Lord over three houses: Potter, Peverell…and it sounds like you may have sorted out the last one.”

“Gryffindor?” she squeaked, not quite believing the words that were coming out of her mouth.

“Right in one,” he complimented. “So I hope you like the scarlet and gold decorations because we are stuck with it.”

“We?” she asked dumbly, struggling to deal with the information overload of the last few minutes.

Harry instantly became more nervous and stood. He steeled himself before continuing.

“Yeah, we’ve still got the _to be determined_ bit to cover and it’s more insane than the other parts,” he began. “Dumbledore took me to Gringotts to start dealing with my inheritances once they realized I was an adult…that’s how I found out about my lordships. Well once we started reviewing the details about the vaults we realized that another person had been granted access the same day as me.”

Harry pulled a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket and continued. “We went to the Ministry and found out why the other name had been listed. Have you ever heard of the Department of Mysteries?” At her nod he continued.

“They have different rooms there dedicated to the things they study and analyze: Time, Death, Prophecies.” Harry paused before handing the folded parchment to her.

“Love.”

Her hands had begun shaking, making it difficult to unfold the parchment. Was it possible to be utterly calm and utterly terrified at the same time?

**_Notice of Soulmate Bonding – October 31, 1994_ **  
_Harry James Potter_  
_Hermione Jane Potter (Granger)_

She idly traced her new name (Potter!) with her finger and forced herself to breathe. She was unable to speak…unable to…anything.

“Dumbledore reckons we’ve been bound for awhile now and you were emancipated at the same time as me due to the connection. The bonding doesn’t register with the Ministry until both parties are considered adults…” he finished, trailing off as she continued to stare at the parchment.

“You don’t have to go by _Potter_ if you don’t want to,” Harry interjected uncomfortably at her prolonged silence. “I told them you’d probably want to keep your last name…or maybe go by _Potter-Granger_ some day…or _Granger-Potter_ even-”

“Soulmates…” she mused aloud. It was all she could manage as she continued to stare at her new name. As far as she could recall there hadn’t been a confirmed soulmate bonding in decades. Was she smiling now? It felt like she was smiling.

“Dumbledore and McGonagall have spent the last couple hours explaining a lot of this to me and I’ve barely wrapped my head around it. That’s why we’re excused from classes tomorrow…so the four of us could go over everything together. I’d never heard of such a thing but I told them I was sure you had read about them already. By the way we are loaded…and you can have as much Sleakeazy’s as you want for free- not that you need it or anything…”

She nodded her head in dazed acknowledgement…still staring at her new name…still smiling. As far as she was concerned they had been a _we_ since first year but to have tangible proof in her hands…that Harry even subconsciously had felt the same way…it was overwhelming.

“Are you all right?” Harry asked nervously. “You being so quiet is a bit nerve wracking.”

“I’m more than all right, Harry,” she replied honestly. She had so many questions and things to research and she couldn’t believe that she was effectively married to a boy she had never actually kissed…but somehow she knew. He was her soulmate after all.

“Is that my room?” she asked, standing and gesturing to the empty bedroom.

“That’s actually up to you,” Harry supplied anxiously. “You can stay in Gryffindor if you aren’t comfortable or ready to move in.”

“But you are?” she asked, remembering the trunk she had spotted earlier.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. “I reckon it would be a nice place to get some privacy and be able to prepare for the tournament in peace. Ron’s already mad at me and he’s only going to get angrier once he finds out I own the castle.”

“You _own_ the castle?” she asked in a laugh. If anyone else had made such a claim she would have laughed them out of the room. But because it was Harry it made perfect sense.

“Voldemort is a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin so technically he could claim half ownership. Since he’s…you know…without a body…it’s a bit hard for him to show up to Gringotts and take the blood test.”

She laughed…suddenly overwhelmed with the ridiculousness of the last hour and the future now laid out in front of her. The cup granting them their majority had merely sped up the process she’d been imagining the last few years. She idly wondered if there was a way to thank a magical object. 

“I’d like to stay here as well if that’s all right with you,” she answered, grabbing his hand once again…the calming warmth returning. She wondered how much of this wondrous sensation was due to their bond or her natural feelings for Harry before realizing they were one in the same. She and Harry had created this…this connection…this feeling of utter _rightness_ …it belonged to them and no-one else.

“Of course it’s all right with me but are you sure? We can keep the bond a secret as long as you’d like but if you move in here everyone will know,” Harry informed.

As she gazed into his eyes she felt as if she were on a roller coaster that had just reached the top of a particularly steep hill….moments away from a rapid and terrifying descent. As much as her heart was racing…as scared as she was at that moment…she knew she would make it safely to the end…and it would most definitely be an amazing ride. “I think I’ll go by Hermione Potter,” she answered quietly, pulling him into a hug.

She felt Harry relax in her arms. “There is one other thing I need to ask you,” he mumbled into her hair.

“Go on,” she prompted.

“Dumbledore told me there’s to be a ball on Christmas day. Would you go with me?” he asked. 

She fought the urge to chuckle. Despite all evidence to the contrary the boy was still unsure of her feelings for him. It was time to start remedying that situation.

She pulled back slightly and stood on her tiptoes…kissing him for the first time. There were no fireworks…no golden auras surrounding them… just the two of them and the wonderful calm stillness of it all. It was warm and soft and utterly indescribable and she was certain that everything else would sort itself out. They had each other and they would sort it all out together.

“My answer is yes on one condition,” she replied as she nuzzled back into his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Anything,” she heard him mumble into her hair.

“You get to explain all of this to my parents, Lord Gryffindor.”


End file.
